Before the past, after the future
by Daisy1
Summary: the prologue to a mini-series with lots of time travel (soon!). Please read and review
1. Default Chapter Title

Before the past, after the future

A/N ok, this is a little hard to explain right now, but believe me it will make sense in the end. The title is a bit weird but it might seem slightly less insane at the end. This is supposed to tie in with my other story, Lilys cousin, which I'm still writing. Have patience please, I've got a lot on at the moment and am writing this in between deadlines!

Disclaimer: Fey still is mine (she says I'm hers) but almost all the rest belongs to the fabulous J.K.Rowling (lucky woman!).

Prologue - time travel

"Sirius?", asked Harry, he wasn't looking forwards to asking this but he needed Sirius' help.

"Mmm?"

"I need your help."

"What have you done?" Sirius was more than a little pre-occupied, he was going over the recipe for his latest trick. He ran a joke shop in Diagon Alley that was doing even better than Zonkos! He never really knew what he was making but it always blew up or something similar whether it was meant to or not.

"Me and Hermione think we have worked out how to time travel, or at least we think we have and we want to send someone back in time to the rising of Voldemort and gather information that can be used in the trials against his followers in the spring."

By now Sirius had forgotton all about exploding shoelaces and was staring at Harry in amasement. "You want to send someone back in time? To my schooldays? Are you mad? I don't remember anyone from the future!"

"Of course you don't. But the way we think it will work is that they go back and are there in someone's mind, and in effect are that person. They have two lives, one now and one in the past." Harry wasn't sure that this would work but his first problem was to find a volunteer. 

"So they exist then and now?"

"Yes, but the only way they can come back is to die in that life. The only problem is-"

"That you need a volunteer. I'll do it." Sirius wasn't sure what he was agreeing to but if it would help Harry, and he owed him so much-

"You can't. You're alive now and you were then so it wouldn't work. Anyway I've got an idea of who to ask, but I need your help in another way. I need to know the names of everyone you knew, who was close to your little gang of Marauders, who died."

Sirius stared at him. Everyone? That was impossible, so many had died during Voldemorts rise, and he couldn't remember them all. "Well I don't know if I can help, but I bet between me, Remus and Kat we can work it out." he stood up, "We can go now."

When they arrived at Remus' house he was not there, but his wife, Kat was. She was a pretty woman in her mid-thirties and had been another of Sirius' schoolfriends.

After Voldemort killed Lily and James the friends had split up and had not seen each other for many years. Sirius had met Remus again when he escaped Azkaban, but neither had contacted any of the old gang of Marauders until Kat had discovered Sirius and Remus at full moon chasing each other round the Welsh countryside. She had recognised them at once and they had talked for a long time about what happened all those years ago, and within a few months Remus and Kat had got married and started up their own 'Magical Plants' shop. She looked very different now, her long, hazel hair now was inches from the floor, but the old mischievous glint was still there.

"Sirius! What a suprise! And Harry, nice to see you again." She swept across the room and pulled them to their feet (Harry still hated travelling by Floo Powder!). "What can I do for you?"

Sirius grinned, "You can do whatever you like to me darling!"

She raised an eyebrow, "I am a married woman, you shouldn't speak like that to me, what if my husband walked in?"

"I'd ask him how he tricked you into marrying him!"

Harry interrupted, "We have come for a reason, if Sirius was just wanting to flirt I would have sent him as far away from me as possible!"

"Of course you have, Harry, now how can I help you?" Kat still found it hard not to cry every time she saw him, he looked so much like James. Apparently Remus and Sirius had got over this, but she wasn't sure she ever would.

Harry took a deep breath, "I want to know the names of everyone who was close to you at school who has died."

Sirius could see that Kat was puzzled and carried on, "He wants to send someone back in time, and it has to be someone now who if it works was friends with us, but died because thats how they come back to our time."

"Can you help with the first bit for now, although I might need your help later," Harry really hoped that all of his parents friends would help later but he'd ask about that later. To his relief Kat agreed. 

The list had thirty names on it by the time Remus got home, and he could add a few more. Harry was exhausted by now, each name brought back memories to the Marauders, and each had a story to tell. Unfortunately there was no-one who bore any resemblance to anyone who Harry knew, and could ask to do this. It would be too hard to take on a new personality so they were searching for someone who looked and acted like someone in the present day.

"Isn't there anyone else? However wrong they might seem?" Harry pleaded.

Remus and Kat exchanged worried looks, "There is someone," Kat said slowly. They both were advoiding looking at Sirius, who was looking daggers at them. 

"She isn't dead." he said flatly.

"Sirius, we know what-" began Remus, but Sirius cut across him.

"I'd know. She isn't dead, and it couldn't have been her." his voice was flat and toneless, unlike any other time Harry had heard him speak.

"Who-?" he began, but Sirius looked so upset that he changed tack. "Are you sure there isn't anyone else? Anyone?"

Remus frowned, "Well there was that boy in our house, Peters friend. But he..."


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A/N this one is slightly bizaare but it should explain a lot about the title and the link between this and my other story, Lilys cousin becomes apparant. Read and Review please.

Disclaimer: its all J.K.Rowlings if you recognise it, if you don't its mine!

Remus is just about to tell Harry about one of their friends from school, and Sirius has been upset by mention of a girl who he used to know.

Part one: beware the rat

"He what?" Harry was intrigued, he hadn't heard of another boy in their house before, or this mystery woman that Sirius was so sure wasn't dead.

Kat looked sad, "He was killed in his first year of being an Auror. You couldn't do that to him. It was terrible...."

__

They stood, unable to to help, a green wall of fire between them and him, it repelled everyone, no-one could get within ten meters of it. He was stood in the centre, a look of pure terror on his face, then suddenly-

Kat shivered and a tear began to roll down her face. Remus pulled her close to him and took up the tale....

__

It seemed there was nothing anyone could do, then one of the group, a fairy like woman, long blonde hair and blue eyes wearing robes of the same colour-shifting shade stepped forwards. Her friends looked so scared, one to her left looked so terrified, long red hair strewn across her face in a tangled mess, tears running freely from her green eyes, to her right was another, much taller woman, with long brown hair, they both held her back, but the blonde-

At this point Harry noticed that Sirius was crying, he had never seen him so upset. Remus paused, having also noticed this. Sirius fingering a pendant, a half heart on a fine chain hung round his neck, took up the story....

__

She threw the hands off and ran forwards, another person, a man this time tried to stop her, but she pointed her wand at him and he flew backwards. Her eyes were fixed on the redhead in the centre of the circle of flames-

Harry started, a redheaded man? That sounded like... but he stoped thinking and carried on listening to Sirius' story....

__

The blonde was almost at the circle now, no-one else had got that far, the redhead was screaming in pain now, she stepped closer, and was at the wall of fire. She muttered something and the fire vanished for a short enough time for her to step inside the circle. But when the flames lept up they were a violent shade of pink. The redhead stopped screaming and collapsed on the floor-

At this point Sirius broke down and could say no more. For a while all that could be heard was the sound of crying, both Sirius and Kat were sobbing uncontrollably. When the sobs subsided Remus took up the story again....

__

The blonde ran to the redheads side and turned him over. The pink flames vanished, and the others rushed forwards to the couple in the centre of the circle, now back to its original state of stone. But no-one could get close enough to touch them. The redheads eyes opened one last time, he looked peaceful, but here was a look of anxiety on his face. He stared up at them and said three words....

**__**

Beware the rat.

A glazed look came over his eyes and he appeared to be speaking to someone, "It worked.... yes.... I have all the information.... yes.... I love you too....."

Sirius and Kat had stopped crying now, Sirius looked more than a little embarrassed, Kat was staring into space, but Remus broke the silence.

"So you see Harry it couldn't be him, he was working for Voldemort."

Harry however was looking delighted. "No! Don't you see? It was him! Is him! He is the one who travels back! Then he comes back to our time and that's what you saw! The last bit must be when he is coming back to our time and is talking to us!"

The older three looked shocked. 

"Well it could be-"

"Might work-"

"Alright, Harry if you're sure-"


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A/n ok the other parts were quite short but i hope this will be longer, and might answer some questions. And thank you to those of you who reviewed the other parts. If you review then I will get up the next piece quicker!!!

Disclaimer: if you recognise it its Ms Rowlings, if you don't its mine!

Part two: who's the redhead?

Harry, Ron and Hermione were sat around the table at Sirius' house discussing what they were going to do. 

"Well," Hermione said, "I think that we have to perform this when there is a lot of excess magic around, perhaps midsummer night, then we have to decide a place, it has to be somewhere secret-" 

Harry and Ron exchanged looks, they had already decided to perform the spell at Stonehenge as there was always plenty of magic loose round there.

"I think that Stonehenge would be best," continued Hermione, Ron started to say something but Hermione overrode him, "No Ron, Stonehenge is the best place, the magic there is much more powerful than anywhere else-"

Hermione hadn't changed one bit in the last few years, if anyhting she had become even more chatty (but she still sounded like a walking textbook!), Harry found this amusing but Ron still got cross when she suggested his ideas and took all the credit for them!

In Hermiones next pause for breath Harry started to ask another question before Hermione could tell them how dangerous this could be again.

"OK, we've decided everything now except who we are going to have to perform the spell. Now I think that as well as us three, Ginny should be a part of it," at the others agreement Harry continued, "I'd also like to ask Sirius, Remus and Kat, but apart from them..."

Ron finally spoke up without being silenced by Hermione, "How about Fred and George? I think they would-"

"And if we ask them we should ask Angelina and Katie," interrupted Hermione "So that makes eleven, twelve including Sam, does anyone know if he counts?"

Ron shrugged hiis shoulders, "I didn't write it, don't ask me."

Harry frowned, deep in thought, "I'm not sure, I don't think so, but we have to have an even number of male and female, so we need two more women."

"We can ask Alicia, after all she is Sams wife, so we should inclde her really."

Sam was an Auror just like Harry and the two of them had come up with this plan together. Sam had gone to a magical school in Canada, but had moved to England the year Harry became an Auror. He and Harry had become good friends and when Harry had introduced him to Ron they had discovered that they were cousins. Sam and Alicia had been married for nearly a year now, and Sam had continued to work as an Auror alongside Harry. He had volunteered to travel back as soon as he had heard the description of the boy who had been friends with the Marauders. Harry prefferred for Sam to go rather than Ron who had been the alternative because Sam was an Auror and it was nearer to his line of duty than Rons who was manager of the Chudley Cannons.

A few days later Harry was at Kats house, finalising the location and time. She was still looking at him with 'that' expression on her face, the one which suggested that they were old friends, he was sure that this was because of his father, and nothing to do with him personally. Suddenly he was jolted back to his senses as Kat called his name, it sounded by the tone of her voice that he'd drifted off into a dream world.

"Harry? Are you listening?"

"Sorry Kat, must have drifted off for a minute. What were you saying?"

She looked at him, exasperated. "I asked you who the twelfth person was. You can't have Sam." It still sounded odd for her to say that name, the last time she'd said it, the last time she'd held him...

He had looked at her so sadly, did he know that his time was short now? 

"Promise me one thing," he'd said.

"Anything for you," and she'd meant it, she meant everything she said to him.

"Promise me that when I'm gone you won't waste tears on me. No, listen. No-one knows about us, no-one has to, EVER, you'll find someone else, get married, maybe have children," he had looked so serious that it almost made her cry.

"Have you, have you seen something... in the future?" he was the only one with any real divinating powers, although he denyed it he was spookily good at it.

"You can't have Sam. That won't work, he ws resisting going back. I don't think he knew it, but..."

"Is there something you aren't telling me Kat?"

She sighed, she couldn't break the promise, not now. "No, nothing. You can't use him because he won't know when it happens, and when he does, it'll be so hard for him, you have to have someone else."

Harry was puzzled, this made sense but just one problem, "Who?"

"There was one person, a girl, we thought she must must be dead, but if Sirius says she's alive, then she must be."

Harry caught on quickly, "The blonde woman? The day...?"

Kat nodded. "She was called Fey." She smiled at the look on his face, "Learnt ancient languages did you? Yes, she was nicknamed Fey because of her fairylike appearance when she was young, and it stuck. (A/n for those of you who don't know, Fey is the word for fairy in one of the ancient English languages, I got it from a book.) I believe I was one of the few who knew her true name. Her and Sirius... they were as bad as each other."

"Sirius?!" said Harry in disbelief. "They were a couple?"

Kat smiled, "Unlikely I know. He never loved anyone after she left him. Fey was the only one who he stayed with more than a week." she smiled at the memory, then frowned. "Unfortunately he is also the only one who can find her. If he still loves her, which I think he does, then he can perform a charm to track her down. They've been too long apart, I'd say she wouldn't be coping too well herself."

When Sirius heard this latest plan he refused.

"You still love her don't you? If so then you can find her."

Remus was losing patience now.

"Sirius we need her now will you do this or not?"

__

"Sirius, you this already but I have to say it again. No matter what you do, what happens, know this, I will always love you, and I will never hide from you. Ever. You and me are forever."

"I'll do it."

(A/n liked it? hated it? Review it please!!!!)


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